Cost of looking after a child after school.

[Weber2010]

Hello,I am going to pick up from school and look after a girl twice a week. How much should I charge? What's the average cost? I haven't worked for 8 years so I'm not up to date. Any help appreciated.

Are you a registered childminder?

Check with mum if she is expecting you to provide a snack or will send one with her DD.

How many hours per day are we talking about?

Are you doing the school run anyway and looking after your own child at the same time? In that case I would charge a lot less. Do you have to drive to pick up the child, or is it just a short walk?

Will you supervise homework, just let them watch TV, or provide some entertainment eg stop at the playground to play, access to a garden to play, toys/games to play, provide materials for colouring etc.

How old is the child? Looking after a 5 year old is harder than looking after a 10 year old.

What arrangements if there is an emergency or the child becomes unwell whilst at your house.

Taking all this into account I wouldnt charge more than £5 a session personally. It's not a iob, and you arent insured.

If it is an informal arrangement and you aren't a childminder. An afterschool club from 3.30pm to 6pm is about £9 where i live including supervised activities and a good quality healthy snack and drinks.

You can’t really charge anything unless you’re ofsted registered, insured and have first aid certificate. If it’s a favour for a friend that will get old real fast when she starts taking advantage, picking up late, expecting you to accommodate after school club picks ups or inset days etc.

A registered CM would usually charge £4-6 per hour, so really not worth bothering for one child. Especially as you’d spend £100s a year on the aforementioned fees. Have you looked into training and registering? It’s not hard, just a few hours study and a few hundred invested and you have a viable business. Earning £16-20 an hour instead with 4 kids.

Why do people say you can’t charge? How is it different from having a babysitter 😕